I've been using Norton Anti-virus for several years now without too much of a problem.A few months ago, I purchased the full version of Malwarebytes and installed it. I thought (and maybe I'm mistaken here) that I read that the two products can live side by side, so to speak.All went well for a few months and then all of a sudden Norton started sending me messages that I needed to uninstall Malwarebytes in order for Norton to do it's job. I kept ignoring the message and all was well until I installed (or, I should say, TRIED to install) the new year's version of Norton. It wouldn't even install until I uninstalled Malwarebytes. Is there any way the two can be on the same computer? I hate to think I spent the money on Malwarebytes only to find out it's not usable anymore. Is there any to work around this?

_________________________
The answer is....chocolate! Who cares what the question is.....

Is the payed version of Malwarebytes a real-time virus checker? It's generally not considered good practice to have more than one real-timer checker running on your machine in the same way you wouldn't have two firewalls. All you are creating is a resource hog.

I've never used the paid version so I'm not sure what it does. If it is just a scanner (ie you set it to scan the files on your disk) then there is no problem running it with something else. If it is a real-time virus-checker (ie it checks the files when you actually open/run them) then it is doing exactly the same job as your Norton and so will slow your machine down. It's not that they can't run together it's just that it not generally recommended. As I say Ive never used the paid version so maybe it's probably best to wait till someone who actually uses it comes along who can give a definitive answer. It may well be that it's job is totally different to that of Norton.

They can be used side-by-side. In fact, the combination of a good anti-virus and Malwarebytes Pro gives you excellent protection. They call it "cooperative functionality" whatever that means. I run MWB Pro alongside Microsoft Security Essentials on my Windows 7 and Windows Defender (basically Security Essentials for Windows 8) on my Windows 8. I've never had either one slow down my computer. I've put this combination on at least half a dozen other computers and it really works well.

Jenny,I put the files you listed in your posting in the "items to exclude" list on Norton.I was able to reinstall and run Malwarebytes. I'll just have to wait and see if any problems develop, but for the moment, the two are co-existing.Thanks.Mary

_________________________
The answer is....chocolate! Who cares what the question is.....

I used to run Norton when I got my first PC, and chucked it after getting their Internet Security because it became a very pushy program. I don't remember all it was interfering with, but instead of being in the background, it was standing out front directing traffic.

I went through another pushy program until I came upon Avast! and Malwarebytes. Because both DID sit in the background watching things, and only yelled when they detected something, I purchased both and have been happy since.

_________________________
If something gets your goat, it just proves you have a goat to get.

This topic comes at a good time for me. I've not been happy with Norton for a while now, and my licence just ended. Think I will try Avast and Malwarebytes freeware to see how they act on my system and then will buy them if I like them. Thanks for the tip Homer6. Can't tell you how many years I've been using Norton...

Jenny,I put the files you listed in your posting in the "items to exclude" list on Norton.I was able to reinstall and run Malwarebytes. I'll just have to wait and see if any problems develop, but for the moment, the two are co-existing.Thanks.Mary

Glad to hear it worked for you, Mary.Too bad Norton couldn't do this themselves instead of expecting their customers to do it.

Sharon,If you'll be using the free Malwarebytes, you should have no problem using it with any anti-virus since it only runs when you start it. The "Pro" version is a real-time program and is continually scanning, (as far as I understand it). I was tired of trying to remember to run the free version, so I went for the "Pro".

_________________________
The answer is....chocolate! Who cares what the question is.....

That's correct, Mary. The paid version of Malwarebytes is an active scanning software that sits in the background and watches for malware or possible sites that might contain malware. And so far I've no problems with how Malwarebytes has been acting.

_________________________
If something gets your goat, it just proves you have a goat to get.